20 LUCERNE CULTURE. 



in the case of fruit orchards, the lucerne grower who has just 

 started must be prepared to wait a year or two for a return upon 

 his outlay. 



Lucerne fields yield very little the first year, and not much the 

 second. From the second year onward lucerne becomes profitable, 

 although it is said not to be fully matured till about the fifth year, 

 Most Karroo farmers cannot afford to wait for a year or two for a 

 return upon outlay, and prefer to continue ploughing for cereals 

 year after year, even if five out of ten years they are only feeding 

 locusts and rust spores. 



Yet it is precisely the farmer of limited means who stands 

 most in need of utilising to the very best advantage the means at 

 his disposal for extending his limited capital. The advantages of 

 lucerne growing are therefore of more importance to the farmer of 

 limited capital than to the well-to-do farmer. 



